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Friday, July 31, 2015
Question:
Hello Charlie,
There is much inconsistency among inspectors in regard to requiring a disconnecting means within sight of a dwelling unit dishwasher. Some inspectors require one, and some permit a breaker lock on the (out of sight) circuit breaker in the panelboard.
Don Miller
A
Answer:
Hey Don thanks for your question. An appliance connected using an attachment plug and receptacles is permitted to use that as the disconnecting means as stated in 422.33 - if it is accessible. If the dishwasher has a unit switch that disconnects all of the ungrounded conductors and is marked with an off position it can be used as the disconnecting means under the conditions provided in 422.34. For dishwashers (that have a motor rated over 1/8 horsepower) the disconnecing means must be within sight of the appliance if there is no unit switch as stated in 422.31 and the exception. So there are different requirements depending on how the dishwasher is connected and whether it has a unit switch or not.